In a joint statement on Friday afternoon, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little Pengelly confirmed that they have written to the Prime Minister

First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have called for a reduction in fuel duty and a package of measures to support hauliers, farmers and SMEs.

This comes after a series of protests similar to those in the Republic have been planned for Northern Ireland over the coming days.

In a statement issued late on Friday afternoon, Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little Pengelly confirmed that they have written to the Prime Minister calling on him to take urgent action.

“We are deeply concerned about the escalating pressures facing families, workers and businesses as fuel and energy costs continue to rise. The cost of fuel is putting significant pressure on, with increases not sustainable. These pressures are being felt in family homes here and beyond,” they said.

“Alongside rising fuel costs and escalating energy bills, there is also an impact on businesses. Our hauliers, our farmers, and small and medium-sized enterprises are facing sharply increased operating costs too and these costs are inevitably being passed on further, deepening the cost-of-living crisis.“Families and businesses cannot continue to absorb these sustained increases without intervention which is why we are calling on the Prime Minister to bring forward a package of measures to support those under pressure.

“This package should include a reduction in fuel duty to ease pressure on both households and businesses, targeted support for hauliers, farmers and SMEs and a comprehensive cost of living support package.

“Given the scale and immediacy of this crisis, we have asked the Prime Minister to act decisively and without delay.”

Earlier today, Alliance leader Naomi Long and Lagan Valley MP Sorcha Eastwood also wrote to the Prime Minister calling on a series of measures to be introduced to assist with the rising costs following the war in the Middle East. The pair asked the Prime Minister to consider a temporary reduction in fuel duty alongside a temporary reduction or removal of VAT on agricultural diesel and home heating oil, while also calling for an increased windfall tax on energy companies.

Protests have caused disruption across the Republic of Ireland in recent days, and similar protests have taken place in France and Norway.

As the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service raised concerns about the impact of the potential protests, the Ulster Unionist Party have stressed that demonstrations must remain lawful, protect access to the road network, and never hinder emergency services.

A Party spokesperson said: “The Ulster Unionist Party fully understands the frustrations being felt by everyone and businesses across Northern Ireland who are being hammered by sky high fuel costs. We also recognise the serious pressures facing our farmers, who are dealing with mounting fertiliser costs that will inevitably have knock on effects on food prices for everyone.

“Everyone has a legitimate right to protest, but it is a qualified right. Any protest must be lawful, must respect other people’s right to use the road network, to go about their daily lives and to run their livelihoods. Most importantly, protests must not impede the vital work of our emergency services.

“The Ulster Unionist Party will continue to call on the UK Government to implement a realistic, long-term plan for a substantial cut in fuel duty and to do so immediately. Working families, businesses and our farming community need support. These are the people being punished simply for going out to work and keeping our economy moving. Freezing or reversing duty increases is no longer enough; the Government needs bold action now.”

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Now armed with the figures, I entered my address on Virgin’s site to confirm I could get the fastest speed (Gig1) in my area, closed my laptop and made a note to sort it out before the annual price increase on April 1st.

That was where I went wrong. In the four days that followed, I had six missed calls from Sky, presumably hoping to convince me to sign a new contract, and 12 from Virgin hoping to seal the deal. These came every couple of hours until I got so fed up, I blocked the number.

By the fourth day I was so angry that I contemplated no broadband at all just for some peace. Instead, I did what Virgin was no doubt hoping I would do: I opened my laptop back up and completed the switch. It took 10 minutes.

Before doing this, I rang Sky to see if it was able to match Virgin’s price for a similar speed. I’d always recommend this. Sadly, it came out £11 a month more expensive, despite my years of loyalty. I hung up, a little disappointed my 14-year relationship was resulting in divorce without so much as a trip to the couple’s counsellor.

Since the early days of Cuba’s 1950s revolution – which overthrew the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and replaced it with a socialist government led by Fidel Castro – the Cuban diaspora have played a large role in determining the island nation’s economic and political landscape.

The first wave of predominantly wealthy, white Cuban emigrants have for decades campaigned for a watertight embargo against their homeland. Many fled immediately after the revolution succeeded in 1959, primarily to the US, and have largely refused to visit their homeland on principle.

More recent Cuban emigrants who have left the island (again overwhelmingly to the US) since the economic crisis of the 1990s, are generally less affluent and have less political clout. They have forged cross-border links with friends and family members who remain on the island. Through the remittances they send back, these people are now a vital source of foreign currency for Cuba.

The regime in Havana has traditionally maintained a disdainful attitude towards the Cuban diaspora. In the early waves of migration, Cuba’s government officially referred to those who emigrated as gusanos (worms) – traitors aiming to overthrow the government. Expat investment in Cuba was subsequently banned.

But following recent negotiations with the US, this policy posture has changed significantly. After decades of restricting its relationship with the diaspora, the Cuban government announced in March 2026 that it would allow Cuban emigrants residing in places like the US to return to the country, invest in the private sector and own businesses.

In an interview with NBC News on March 16, Cuba’s minister of foreign trade and investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, said: “Cuba is open to having a fluid commercial relationship with US companies and also with Cubans residing in the United States and their descendants.”

Washington’s blessings

The policy change comes as Cuba desperately attempts to rescue its devastated economy. A slew of economic and fuel embargoes imposed by the US government since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025 have led to a severe crisis in the country.

Many Cubans are struggling to find food, medicine and other essential goods, while severe energy shortages are causing periods of complete blackout across the nation. The situation has become so dire that, for the first time in six decades, sporadic protests have broken out against the Cuban government.

In one of these protests, people in the central city of Morón ransacked a Communist Party headquarters. Videos on social media showed a group of people approaching the building with flaming objects, shouting “freedom, freedom” as they threw them inside.

The current state of affairs in Cuba has presented the US with an opportunity to orchestrate regime change – something it has sought for years. And proclamations by Trump and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio, suggest this may well be the US government’s intention.

In comments made to reporters in March, Trump said he believes he will have “the honour of taking Cuba”. He added: “Whether I free [Cuba], take it – I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth? They’re a very weakened nation right now.”

Rubio, who is the son of Cuban emigrants and has traditionally been hawkish about delivering regime change in Cuba, then declared: “Who’s going to invest billions of dollars in a communist country run by incompetent communists? … Giving people economic and political freedom is important, but they come hand in hand. They come together.”

Despite this rhetoric, many in Washington remain cautious about triggering an outright collapse of the regime. State collapse would almost certainly lead to an increase in the flow of Cuban refugees to the US – something the Trump administration wants to avoid.

While weakened, the regime in Havana remains in place. The extended Castro family still wields considerable power and influence in the country. The men leading the talks with the US, Fraga and Raúl Rodríguez, are two of Fidel Castro’s great-nephews.

Cuba’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, has said he will not resign under US pressure. He told NBC News on April 9 that “the concept of revolutionaries giving up and stepping down [is] not part of our vocabulary”.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, later said that Moscow, a longstanding ally of the regime in Havana, had no intention of abandoning Cuba.

Despite publicly calling for fundamental reform to the power structure in Havana, Washington’s approach towards Cuba seems primarily aimed at using its leverage to encourage the regime to make concessions that diminish the island’s value to US adversaries.

The US government has encouraged Havana to open its doors to expat investment before. Under the presidency of Barack Obama, who is credited with reestablishing diplomatic relations with Havana in 2009 after half a century of diplomatic blockades, the flow of people and remittances between the US and Cuba expanded.

This warming of relations created some opportunities for increased investment in Cuba, both by US citizens and Cuban emigrants. But the Cuban government maintained significant restrictions on large investments by Cubans living abroad, which hindered the full potential of foreign investment.

Fast forward to today, and the far more desperate economic and political situation in Cuba has made the regime in Havana more open to the demands of the US to restructure its governance. At this juncture, Cuba’s diaspora can be a much-needed catalyst for change in their home country.

In a letter to the chief inspector of the AAIB, Robert Balls, they reportedly wrote: “A review by the UK AAIB would provide families like ours with greater confidence that all technical aspects have been properly examined. We are only seeking the truth and reassurance that such a tragedy will not happen again in the future.”

The Aintree Grand National is the most popular horse race in the world, with millions of people around the world watching and placing bets on the legendary steeplechase every year.

Careers have been defined by what happens over the Grand National fences at Aintree in Liverpool, and this year the winner will get £500,000, from a total prize fund of £1,000,000.

The first Grand National took place back in 1839. The winning horse was called ‘Lottery’ and the odds were 5-1. While the national is often considered a lottery, int erms of predicting a winner, there are a number of fancied favourites this year for the 4m 2f 74yds course.

The shortest-priced winner ever was Tiger Roll at 4-1 in 2019, when he became the first back-to-back Grand National champion since Red Rum in the 1970s.

The biggest price was Mon Mome in 2009 (100-1), with last year’s winner – Nick Rockett – going off at 33-1. The defending champion has been ruled out though injury, but 2024 winner I Am Maximus is one of the favourites at just 7/1.

The average price of the winner this century has been just under 24-1.

Here’s your complete guide to racing’s most illustrious steeplechase, which takes place at 4pm on Saturday, April 11th.

The Grand National field in full

Number, Name (Nationality), Owner, Trainer, Jockey – Odds

1 I Am Maximus (FR) p 10 11 12 Mr John P. McManus W. P. Mullins Ireland P. Townend – 7/1

3 Banbridge (IRE) v 10 11 11 Mr R. A. Bartlett Joseph Patrick O’Brien Ireland J. J. Slevin – 33/1

4 Grangeclare West (IRE) 10 11 10 Cheveley Park Stud W. P. Mullins Ireland – 9/1

5 Gerri Colombe (FR) p 10 11 10 Robcour Gordon Elliott Ireland 22/1

6 Haiti Couleurs (FR) 9 11 10 Conyers, McDermott and Prowting Rebecca Curtis Sean Bowen – 16/1

8 Firefox (IRE) ts 8 11 4 Bective Stud Gordon Elliott Ireland – 50/1

9 Monty’s Star (IRE) 9 11 3 Mr Barry Maloney Henry de Bromhead Ireland – 16/1

10 Spanish Harlem (FR) ts, p 8 11 3 Dr S. P. Fitzgerald W. P. Mullins Ireland – 28/1

11 Lecky Watson (IRE) 8 11 2 Slaneyville Syndicate W. P. Mullins Ireland – 22/1

12 Champ Kiely (IRE) 10 11 1 Miss M. A. Masterson W. P. Mullins Ireland – 22/1

13 Iroko (FR) ts 8 11 1 Mr John P. McManus Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero Jonjo O’Neill Jr. – 14/1

14 Favori de Champdou (FR) bl 11 11 1 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott Ireland – 40/1

15 Three Card Brag (IRE) p 9 11 0 McNeill Family/Patrick & Scott Bryceland Gordon Elliott Ireland – 50/1

16 Oscars Brother (IRE) 8 10 13 Mr John P. McManus Connor King Ireland – 16/1

17 Mr Vango (IRE) ts, p 10 10 12 Cracker and Smodge Partnership Sara Bradstock Jack Tudor – 66/1

18 High Class Hero 9 10 11 Sullivan Group Ltd/P. Crowley/N. Hughes W. P. Mullins Ireland – 40/1

19 Stellar Story (IRE) bl,ts 9 10 11 Gigginstown House Stud Gordon Elliott Ireland – 25/1

20 Beauport (IRE) ts 10 10 11 Bryan & Philippa Burrough Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies – 66/1

21 Captain Cody (IRE) 8 10 10 V Caldwell/A Shamoon/Mrs A Shamoon Ibgi W. P. Mullins Ireland – 16/1

22 Jagwar (FR) ts, p 7 10 10 Mr John P. McManus Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero – 10/1

23 Perceval Legallois (FR) 9 10 9 Mr John P. McManus Gavin Cromwell Ireland Harry Cobden – 25/1

24 Gorgeous Tom (IRE) 8 10 9 Envirogreen Housing Services Ltd Henry de Bromhead Ireland Sean Flanagan – 20/1

25 The Real Whacker (IRE) 10 10 9 Neville, Mann, Duffus & Dennis-Price Patrick Neville Gavin Sheehan – 66/1

26 Quai de Bourbon (FR) p 7 10 9 Gigginstown House Stud W. P. Mullins Ireland – 25/1

27 Answer To Kayf 10 10 8 Mr Denis A. O’Connor Terence O’Brien Ireland – 66/1

28 Jordans (FR) 7 10 8 Cheeky Pups Syndicate Joseph Patrick O’Brien Ireland Ben Jones – 28/1

29 Final Orders 10 10 5 C. M. D. Syndicate Gavin Cromwell Ireland Conor Stone-Walsh – 22/1

30 Marble Sands (FR) 10 10 5 DL Adams, JA Adams & G McPherson David Killahena & Graeme McPherson Kielan Woods – 50/1

31 Panic Attack (IRE) 10 10 5 Bryan Drew Dan Skelton Harry Skelton – 15/2

32 Top of The Bill (IRE) p 10 10 5 Mr Charlie Walker Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies Toby McCain-Mitchell – 50/1

33 Johnnywho (IRE) ts, p 9 10 4 Mr John P. McManus Jonjo & A.J. O’Neill Richie McLernon – 12/1

34 Twig p 11 10 4 Mrs G. Morgan Ben Pauling Beau Morgan – 40/1

R36 Imperial Saint (FR) 8 10 2 Richard Johnson Racing Imperial Saint Philip Hobbs & Johnson White Callum Pritchard – 50/1

R37 Amirite (IRE) ts 10 10 2 Patrick Hale Henry de Bromhead Ireland 80/1

Reserves

R38 Ain’t That A Shame (IRE) 12 10 2 Eventmasters Racing Tom Ellis Jack Andrews

R39 Deep Cave (IRE) 8 10 2 Sue Howell Christian Williams

R40 Buddy One (IRE) p 9 10 2 E. Lynch/T.C.Quinn/John J. McGrath Paul John Gilligan Ireland

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Five people have been charged with murder in a deadly Northern California explosion at a fireworks warehouse that killed seven people and shook a tiny farming community, authorities said Friday.

The charges stem from a grand jury indictment that found five people, including a former Yolo County Sheriff lieutenant, responsible for the explosion that injured two others, Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said.

The deadly fireworks explosion near the community of Esparto sparked a massive fire and led to nearby Fourth of July celebrations being called off.

Those charged with murder include Samuel Machado, who owned the warehouse about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. At the time, he was a lieutenant with the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office.

“Samuel Machado’s participation included using his role as a trusted lieutenant to help shield the conspiracy as it expanded and the expansion was significant,” Nabity said, adding that the warehouse went from having 13 fireworks storage containers in 2015 to 50 last year. At the time of the explosion, there were 1 million pounds of fireworks kept at the facility, she said.

Kenneth Chee, owner of Devastating Pyrotechnics, whose illegal fireworks were being stored at Machado’s warehouse, has also been charged with murder and was arrested in Florida. He appeared in a Florida courtroom Friday and was told he will be extradited to California within the week, KCRA-TV reported.

Authorities also arrested Jack Lee, the operations manager for Devastating Pyrotechnic, and Gary Chan Jr., whose name is on the company’s federal license, the television station reported. Both also face murder charges. The fifth person charged with murder is Douglas Tollefson, who has not yet been arrested. Tollefson’s role in the explosion was not immediately known.

“This is not a case just about fireworks,” Yolo County Deputy District Attorney Clara Nabity said. “They are devices that have so much more explosive fireworks than the law allows that they can’t be considered fireworks.”

Nabity said a total of eight people face 30 charges in the case, including murder, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of illegal assault weapons, illegal explosives possession, insurance fraud, child endangerment and animal cruelty.

Machado, Chee, Lee, Chan were arrested Thursday along with Craig Cutright, the owner of Blackstar Fireworks, which operated at the Esparto property owned by Machado and his wife, was also among those arrested. Cutright, was a volunteer firefighter for the Esparto Fire District and was also listed as an employee of Devastating Pyrotechnics.

Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man aged in his 70s was ‘punched to death’ in Cheltenham.

Two boys aged 16 and 17 were arrested following an altercation with a cyclist in his 70s on Wednesday night.

The cyclist had a branch thrown at him from the Millennium Bridge.

He confronted the two males suspected of throwing the branch on Honeybourne Way, before one punched him in the face knocking him to the ground.

The suspects fled the scene but were first arrested on suspicion of suspcion of causing grievous bodily harm.

The victim was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and died earlier today.

Gloucestershire Police said: ‘Two teenage boys have been arrested after police released CCTV images in connection with a serious assault in Cheltenham on Wednesday night (8 April).

Since their arrests, the victim has died and the suspects have been rearrested on suspicion of murder.

Following information provided by the public, a 17-year-old boy was arrested last night (Thursday) and a 16-year-old boy was arrested in the early hours of this morning (Friday). 

‘It was reported that two males had been on the Millennium Bridge and had thrown a large branch at a cyclist who was travelling on the road below. It is not believed the cyclist was injured.

‘The males then left the bridge and were approached by the victim, a man aged in his 70s, on Honeybourne Way.

‘It is reported an exchange took place between them before one of the male punched the victim in the face causing him to fall to the ground. 

‘The suspects then fled before officers arrived at the location.

‘Emergency services attended and the victim was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. He had been in a critical condition and died in hospital earlier today (Friday 10 April). His next of kin and the coroner have been informed.’

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The Artemis II mission to the Moon is a voyage unlike any other in more than half a century. As the first crewed lunar flight since 1972, Artemis II marks the beginning of a new chapter in our relationship with the Moon.

Nasa’s goal is to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. As the Artemis II ten-day journey concludes, it will be remembered as a profound moment in the history of human spaceflight. Stunning photos and video downlinked to Earth have provided a human perspective on this historic encounter with our celestial neighbour. The experience has rekindled the optimistic spirit of the Apollo era for a new generation.

The mission did not orbit the Moon. Instead, the Orion spacecraft carried the astronauts on a gravity guided loop around Earth’s natural satellite. During their flight, the crew – Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen – travelled further into space than any previous human mission.

They reached a maximum distance of 252,756 miles from Earth, exceeding a distance record set by Apollo 13. Afterwards, mission specialist Jeremy Hansen challenged the next generation of explorers “to make sure this record is not long-lived”.

This challenge underscores the current focus of human space exploration. After decades sending its astronauts to low Earth orbit, the US space agency is looking outward again, not just to the Moon, but also Mars.

The mission began with a textbook launch of the Orion spacecraft on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a day in Earth orbit, Orion’s main engine performed a nearly six minute burn, known as the translunar injection (TLI), to send the capsule on its lunar trajectory.

As Orion headed to the Moon, commander Reid Wiseman captured a stunning view of our home planet. The beautiful image, dubbed Hello, World, shows Earth at night, illuminated only by reflected sunlight from the Moon.

The mesmerising green light of auroras at the poles and the arc of zodiacal light (a faint glow of sunlight scattered by interplanetary dust) highlighted how thin Earth’s atmosphere is.

The image immediately drew comparisons with the iconic Blue Marble photograph taken during the Apollo 17 lunar mission in 1972; the last time humans viewed the entirety of Earth with their own eyes.

Lunar flyby

On the morning of April 6, as the lunar flyby approached, mission control played the crew a special message from astronaut Jim Lovell, recorded before his death in 2025. Lovell is a link to Nasa’s trailblazing past, having flown on both the Apollo 8 mission, the first to reach the Moon, and Apollo 13.

“Welcome to my old neighborhood!” Lovell said. “When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I (flew) on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon… I’m proud to pass that torch on to you.”

His words must have inspired the four astronauts as they began scientific observations of 30 key sites on the lunar surface. These included impact craters and volcanic features on the Moon’s near side and its far side – the face pointed away from the Earth.

The astronauts found the time to name a crater after Reid Wiseman’s wife Carroll, who died of cancer in 2020. In a touching moment, Jeremy Hansen was overwhelmed with emotion as he informed mission control of their suggestion.

Discovering Earth

As Orion travelled behind the Moon, the crew witnessed the blue crescent of Earth setting below the lunar horizon. A photograph, named Earthset, has already become a classic space image. It recalls the legendary Earthrise photograph taken by astronaut Bill Anders during Apollo 8 in 1968.

Earthrise was a defining picture of the Apollo era – credited with inspiring the environmental movement in the 1970s. As Bill Anders commented: “We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”

Anders may have been one of the first astronauts to articulate the “overview effect”. This affects some astronauts while viewing Earth from space. They describe being awestruck by our planet’s beauty and fragility. An enhanced sense of connection to humanity is often reported, as well as a profound feeling of responsibility for the environment.

After Orion emerged from behind the Moon, the crew was treated to a spectacular hour-long solar eclipse. As a mostly darkened Moon blocked out our parent star, the astronauts photographed the Sun’s faint atmosphere, the corona, which was made visible by the eclipse.

They also witnessed flashes of light from meteoroids (small space rocks) impacting the Moon – to the visible delight of scientists at mission control in Houston. Researchers want to understand the dynamics of these impact events, as well as the risk they could pose to future missions.

In his message, Lovell had reminded the astronauts to enjoy the view during their busy flyby. The astronauts later described the strong emotions they felt. Christina Koch said: “I just had an overwhelming sense of being moved by looking at the Moon. It lasted just a second or two… but something just threw me in suddenly to the lunar landscape and it became real.”

Victor Glover added: “I went straight where Christina went, and I was walking around down there on the surface, climbing and off-roading on that amazing terrain.”

Artemis II has shared the astronauts’ sense of wonder with people around the world. Those who have followed the mission will be left with a new appreciation of humankind’s place in the cosmos. The incredible images and human moments offered an unprecedented window into a voyage of pure exploration.

Earlier this year, Nasa’s administrator Jared Isaacman announced a bold new vision for the agency’s Artemis lunar programme, including an increased launch frequency for the SLS rocket and concrete plans for a permanent Moon base.

That vision of the future is off to an extraordinary start. For humanity, a new adventure is just beginning.

BBC presenter Monty Don has shared his regrets after twin sister Alison’s devastating car crash, which left her blinded and tetraplegic, in an emotional interview

Ahead of presenting Have I Got News for You this evening, an evidently emotional Monty Don has shared his heartbreak over a devastating car crash that left his twin sister severely injured when they were teenagers, and the distance that has grown between them now.

Monty and his sister Alison were extraordinarily close during childhood, as he explains: “We grew up together completely for the first six years, barely ever apart.

“We were always in the same class at primary school… we slept in the same room, we shared the same bath, we did everything together,” Monty revealed to podcast host Gyles Brandreth.

Despite growing somewhat apart as they matured – with Monty attending boarding school and developing different interests – their fundamental connection, he insists, “can’t be broken. It’s there. It just is there”.

However, while Monty was enjoying an extended gap year in the south of France, he received a telegram that he immediately recognised as dreadful news: “It just said, ‘Ring home, Alison, accident’,” he remembered.

Monty explains that during the mid-1970s, such a telegram would only have been dispatched in the direst of circumstances, but his profound bond with his sister meant he instantly sensed Alison was in grave danger: “I knew that she hadn’t just fallen off a horse,” he recalled.

Monty reveals that Alison sustained catastrophic injuries in the terrible collision: “She was blinded and made tetraplegic and her lungs … a bag of cement burst and coated her lungs. She was given the last rites.”

His voice breaking with emotion, Monty recounted how he rushed to his sister’s bedside at Stoke Mandeville hospital: “I would lie under her bed and talk to her, and she was blind, and sort of nuts and bolts on her head, and all that sort of thing, and then go out and weep, and then go back and tell her jokes, and tell her about the dogs, and tell her about the garden.”

Further heartbreak awaited Monty when, shortly after Alison’s accident, their mother suffered a heart attack and was also hospitalised: “I had to cook for my father, who was furious,” Monty explained. “Because that was the only way he could express emotion, and he couldn’t cook, and he wouldn’t eat anything my mother hadn’t cooked.”

Yet despite the severity of her injuries, Alison went on to make a remarkable recovery, Monty reveals: “She got married, had children…although she never got the use of one arm and one eye, and she had endless operations, about 50.”

With a tinge of sadness, Monty, now 70, acknowledges that he and Alison are no longer as close as they once were: “I adore my sister.

“I do adore my sister. I love her as much as it’s possible to love another human being who isn’t your partner in life. But we don’t share it very much.”

Concerned that his sister might feel “hurt” by the gulf that has developed between them, Monty adds: “There is no day to day sharing of life. And I feel sad about that. I feel sorry about that.”

Monty Don is hosting Have I Got News for You tonight at 9pm on BBC One.

“He was found very underweight and thirsty. He drank a whole bowl of water as soon as it was offered.”

A severely underweight German Shepard with a number of open wounds was discovered at a farm in Barrhead. The six-year-old male dog was discovered at Salterland Farm in the town on Thursday, April 9 and is now being treated at a vet clinic.

The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) said the pooch does have a microchip but the details are out of date. The charity has urged anyone who recognises the dog, or has any information at all, to come forward and they promise confidentiality.

Disturbing images show the badly neglected dog, with bones protruding on its ribcage and the wounds visible all over its body. A Scottish SPCA spokesperson said: “A Male German Shepherd was found on the 9th April in Salterland Farm area, G78.

“He does have a microchip but the details are out of date. He is 6 years old.

“He was found very underweight and thirsty. He drank a whole bowl of water as soon as it was offered.

“He has many open wounds and was previously taken to a private vet before coming into our care. He’s now being treated by our vet clinic.

“If you recognise this dog or can provide any information, please contact our confidential helpline 03000 999 999.”

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